THEY’VE performed before royalty and danced with Liza Minelli and Michael Jackson and now, international dancers Floyd and B’Nay are helping one local dancer reach for the stars.
Jacqueline B’Nay, 89, and Jack Floyd, 98, who travelled the world performing as Floyd and B’Nay, have sponsored local ballet student Dayna Booth, 15, who will compete in the semi-finals of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Australian Bursary competition later this month.
Jac and Johnie know first-hand how hard it is to become a professional dancer, but said they also know the rewards a dancing life can bring to the successful few.
“We hope that by helping Dayna get to the semi-finals of this competition, we are bringing her another step closer to her dream of becoming a professional dancer,” Jac said.
From hundreds of aspiring young dancers, Dayna received a mark of 96 per cent in the qualifying RAD examination.
Dayna will now compete for one of the eight coveted placed in the grand final and a chance to win the $5000 RAD bursary prize.
“We wish her all the very best and will follow her career with great interest,” Jac said.
The Royal Academy of Dance is a global organisation based in London and with members across 79 countries.
Over 220,000 students take part in the RAD examinations each year and for advanced classical ballet students there are only two bursaries offered world-wide, one in England and one in Australia.
Before Dayna joins the Australian Ballet School’s full-time program in Melbourne in 2015, she will perform at the Dance Centre Peregian Spring annual concert at the Events Centre, Caloundra, tonight.
